Editorial Development: Bonnie Brook Communications

SKILL PRACTICE
Read each question. Fill in the bubble next to the correct answer.
 1. What rule guided King Midas’s reign at the 
beginning of the passage?
A 
Think before you act.
B 
Everyone deserves kindness.
C 
Wishes do come true.
D 
Beware of offers that seem too good to be true.
 2. The passage’s theme warns readers against having 
too much 
.
A 
greed
B 
loyalty
C 
timidity
D 
anger
 3. King Midas was happier at the end of the passage 
than at the beginning because he 
.
A 
could appreciate what really mattered
B 
became much richer
C 
had earned Dionysus’s respect
D 
had become a better ruler
 4. What did King Midas learn?
A 
You should always be suspicious of others.
B 
You should try to trick the gods.
C 
There is more to life than gold.
D 
Being wealthy is the best way to live.
STRATEGY PRACTICE
What other reading strategy would be useful for understanding this passage?
How might it help?
 
Theme
3458.indb 103
10/31/12 7:35 AM

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104
Daily Reading Comprehension • EMC 3458 • © Evan-Moor Corp.
Name: 
WEEK 16
DAY 4
READ THE PASSAGE
As you read, think about how the narrator feels about traveling on a zip line.
The Zip Line
Shana, Robyn, and I stood on the high platform near the tops of the rainforest trees. We were wearing 
heavy helmets on our heads and had thick leather straps around our waists, which made seats that hung 
from a thick wire overhead. The wire was strung between the platform we stood on and another platform 
far in the distance. This was the zip line, an adventure I had vowed I would not do on our family trip to 
Costa Rica. I was afraid of heights, afraid of falling, and afraid of zipping through the air above the 
rainforest at 30 miles per hour. Yet here I was, strapped in and ready to go.
“Who goes first?” our guide asked. My sisters exchanged a glance—neither of them stepped forward.
I’d been teased for being a “scaredy cat” ever since I was four, when I tripped and fell on an escalator. 
Even my parents, while relieved by my cautious ways, were worried that I’d miss out on enjoyable 
activities. No longer willing to let life pass me by, I stepped to the edge of the platform, sat back in the 
leather seat, and pushed off. Absolute terror filled me as I shrieked and zoomed through the trees with 
my eyes squeezed shut. Before I could totally process what was happening, I landed safely on the 
second platform.
As my sisters flew in behind me, the guide attached me to the next wire, and I was off again. This 
time, fear was replaced with exhilaration, and I was able to look around me as I zipped. There—a toucan! 
And was that a sloth right at eye level? By the time we had finished all the zip line journeys, I was shouting 
not with terror but with joy. And to think how close I’d come to missing it all!